Bathing in autumn sunshine

Happy autumn equinox people! It's miserable weather today so I thought I'd share some autumnal pictures from last weekend instead.

We went for a walk in the nature reserve at the edge of the city last weekend with some friends. It was a beautiful day full of autumn sunshine, with just a taste of winter in the air.

 

I spotted some hops growing over a doorway.

Our friends spotted some Siberian chipmonks stocking up for winter.

We tasted some small and very bitter wild apples.

We spotted some unidentified berries, which we didn't taste!

Unfortunately, there was a distinct lack of blackberries, which were our main target - they were all small, shrivelled and dried out. I did however pick some acorns to have a go at making acorn coffee...

New tastes

The office has a fruit basket, stocked up every week, to encourage us to eat healthy food and not get sick. (They also have a biscuit jar, which encourages quite different behaviours!) They get seasonal fruits in, and this week I have discovered two new things I have never tasted before.

These are noisettes, which I think means hazelnuts. I googled and have discovered a world of fine nuance between hazelnuts, cobnuts and filberts. I am not entirely sure which is which

I don't think I've ever seen a fresh hazelnut before, let alone tasted. They're the same size and shape as the brown things you find on chocolate cakes, but they taste totally different. They taste fresh, crunchy and almost juicy - the closest comparison I can think of is fresh peas eaten straight from the pod. Yum.

The other new taste for me is these. I wasn't sure what they were, tentatively nibbled, and YUM! It's slightly tart, and sweet, but gently sweet rather than overpoweringly. Lovely. It's a kind of small green plum - so I think it's a greengage. I've never had a greengage before. I'm a convert - I think I'll get some for my fruit salad. Anyone have any experience of greengage jam?

Changing seasons

Today I'm posting a gratuitous picture of the kind of warm, cosy wood fire I'm craving today. Summer has most definitely passed on - the temperature is stuck around or under 15°. The nights are drawing in and I am rediscovering the simple daily pleasure of drawing all the curtains and snuggling under a blanket on the sofa. It feels so warm and safe inside. Hot water bottles may soon make an appearance.

How are the changing seasons imposing themselves upon your notice?

Sunlight

I don't know if it's my imagination but this year I feel much more aware of the gradually lengthening days. I've even looked up on an online sun calendar when I can expect to still have daylight after I get home from work (not until late March and the clocks go back) and I'm really feeling the benefit of a few more minutes each morning. The sun also feels slightly warmer, slightly brigher, and I am beginning to feel that spring really is on its way.

I've been making an effort recently to try to look up. Walking to and from work, I realise I'm powering along, head down, gaze blindly following patterns on the pavement and mind racing on some work issue, when I could be looking up and around me. The first time I did this, I caught a crystal clear night sky, with stars and a crescent moon glowing brightly. It was so clear and so bright that I could see the shadow of a full moon behind the crescent. (I tried to take a photo but it's just a grey blur.)

Now I am beginning to notice the first buds emerging and unfurling on various trees. (I wish I were better at identifying trees - I can manage oak and chestnut and birch, that's about it).

I wish I were better at getting out and using this sunlight - going for walks or runs, there's three parks within a fifteen minute walk and the forest at the edge of the city is only twenty minutes or so by bus, and yet it always seems so far, when I could be tucked up with my knitting and a cup of tea.

Yet I think there are numerous ways that some of the simplest simple living activities make you more aware of the changing seasons and their impact. The speed at which bread rises, for example, or how long you need to leave laundry hanging outside. We brought our clotheshorse in to the spare room when it got so cold and wet outside that the clothes would no longer dry, and I'm looking forward to being able to put it out again. And when your clothes are on a line outside, you are much more tuned in to whether it's raining or windy, and when you need to bring the clothes in.

So I'm looking forward to getting outside more as spring arrives - whether finally planting out some pots on my balcony, hanging my laundry outside again, or going for more walks. Do you have any other suggestions for things to do to get outside?